random stuff to read
so, this morning as young beatrix was chatting with our mom on the phone, her face, shoulders and upper chest suddenly turned bright red. we suspect this was an allergic reaction to something – probably the potent new vitamins she’s been taking for a couple of months (since these bizarre flush episodes have happened a few times since she began taking them) – and she has now gone back to bed to let it wear off. normally, she’d take allergy medicine to speed the process, but she wants to remain alert and feels the burning skin will pass within an hour.
obviously, we’re skipping the pool this morning and will play the rest of the day by ear. we still have more shopping to do and more meals to eat but, for the moment, we’re taking it easy.
and, while we wait, a random list of stuff and things from our trip to floria:
* we have become completely, wholly and unapologetically addicted to the Bacon Turkey Bravo™ sandwich at Panera Bread Company. PBC is a delightful chain, with many delicious wares, and I suspect they infuse their breads with crack because, honestly, i don’t know that i’ve ever craved a turkey sandwich as much as i have craved this one. plus, they make a deeeeeelicious raspberry-white chocolate brownie.
* we have also become completely, wholly and unapologetically addicted to Cash Cab, the discovery channel’s “general knowledge trivia” game show that takes place to random passengers in a NYC cab (below left: its kick-ass host, ben bailey). i caught it by accident the other day and i love it. then, like any good addict, i hooked young beatrix on it, as well.
* other things that we’ve become addicted to since arriving here: pepperidge farm’s garlic texas toast (SO good!); yoplait passionfruit yogurt (why is this not available in canada?!); the PT cruiser (they are EVERYWHERE! we see dozens every day! it must be some kind of freaky southern thing ‘cause, man, everybody seems to have one), which drives like a dream and stays relatively cool inside due to its darkly tinted windows; morning swims in the empty pool; evening swims in the empty pool; and living life in flip-flops.
* sunscreen and i are not friends. no matter which brand i use, or how vehemently it claims to be sensitive-skin friendly, i invariably end up with a rash. as such, i’ve begun wearing thin, long-sleeved shirts in lieu of sunscreen whenever we’re out and it’s sunny (strangely enough, those days have been few in number thus far).
* yesterday, while at a petsmart, i spotted a guy with a young corgi and, according to trixie, behaved as though someone had walked into the store with a unicorn. she was laughing out loud because (again, she alleges) i shouted (i don’t remember shouting), “oh my god! that guy has a corgi!” she said she was surprised the man didn’t flee after my over-exuberant declaration. so, as casually and nonchalantly as possible, i made my way over to where he was standing, crouched down and was immediately smothered with corgi love. it leapt up onto my lap, furiously wagging its bum (they don't have tails) and basically going berserk. its owner apologized, but i was quite delighted by the whole episode.
* why is it that the size of a man’s speedo is always inversely proportionate to his girth and amount of body hair? it is frightening what some guys consider appropriate swimwear.
*while i’m at it, an open letter to parents with small children who frequent the condo pool: i am not your kids’ babysitter. i am not swimming so that i can act as a de-facto lifeguard should they suddenly drop into the deep end while you nurse a beer or top up your sunscreen or chat on your cellphone. just because i answer them when they shout random things to me as i swim past (“i can doggie paddle!”, “i went in the ocean today!”, “i have to go potty!”) does not mean i’m magically going to become their personal life preserver. so, if you wouldn’t mind and if it’s not too much trouble, put down your beer (or the sunscreen or the phone), get your ass out of the beach chair and at least pretend to mind your child so he or she doesn’t drown. thanks.
* young beatrix is afraid of lovebugs. she squeals and shrieks and makes strange fanning/swatting motions anytime a pair float nearby. (they do seems to like her a lot, though, which is odd. they always leave me alone.) for those unfamiliar with lovebugs, they fly in pairs when mating...and, based on what we’ve seen these last nine days, it must be mating season right now. like, hardcore mating season. the front of our PT cruiser is covered with the bodies of enamored insects we’ve hit while driving. now, this is all very amusing because trix is an avid gardener and happily spends hours at home in the garden surrounded by bees, wasps, hornets, dragonflies, mosquitoes and all manner of things that make me avoid the area altogether. none of those insects phase her, but lovebugs? terrifying. weird.
* speaking of mating in the natural world, yesterday young beatrix and i witnessed two seagulls mating on the beach. it was a little disturbing to behold, and i started to have flashbacks of the avian necrophilia incident i witnessed last month, and Moviepie Eric’s recent blog post about duck rape (warning: do not click that link unless you’re prepared to be horrified).
* why is Veronica Mars sucking in a big way lately? it has gone from a smart, sassy series about a teenage detective to a lame, boring, tiresome mish-mash of The O.C., Dawson’s Creek and Murder, She Wrote. sad. has it been officially cancelled yet?
* and in the “shows not sucking” category, we have Heroes, which rawked this week.
that is all. for now. i must go check on young beatrix to see if her skin has returned to a normal, human colour yet.
